Falling in love? Get it in writing

Two journalism graduates unlocked their feelings with -- what else? -- the written word

"One of the reasons our marriage has lasted is because we work hard to communicate," Kimberley Rudd said. "There are peaks and valleys in any relationship. You just have to know that when you're in that valley, the peak is up ahead, and you can reach it."
(Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune / April 6, 2013)

David and Kimberley Rudd got to know each other as journalism students at Northwestern University in the fall of 1984.

And it was a strictly platonic relationship.

"We were two of about 13 African-American freshman journalism students at Northwestern that year, and I first met Dave at a place that was affectionately known as the 'Black House' at Northwestern; the formal name was the Department of African-American Student Affairs," recalled Kimberley, 46, communications manager for the nonprofit Communities in Schools of Chicago. "(It) provided support to black students — career guidance and tutoring — and also had mixers to welcome you to campus."

"I was definitely attracted to Kimberley's smile," said David, 46, a vice president at Weber Shandwick public relations agency in Chicago. "But we were platonic friends and shared many of the same friends in journalism classes and in the larger Northwestern community."

They both worked as student reporters for the Blackboard, NU's black student newspaper. It created some competition between them as they vied to get their stories on the front page, but it was friendly competition: By junior year, they had become co-editors of the newspaper.

Still, theirs remained a friendship, albeit an increasingly stronger one.

"We spent a lot of time together," Kimberley recalled. "We told each other silly jokes and knew about each other's dates, but there was no romance."

They graduated in June 1988, and the ceremony provided the first opportunity for them to meet each other's families. Kimberley's grandmother, Ruth Wiggins, was one of the first to notice there might be something more than friendship brewing between the two.

"She instinctively sensed there was a closer bond than even we knew existed," David said.

Added Kimberley with a laugh, "She thought David was hanging around me a lot."

As school life morphed into careers, the pair remained good friends. They continued to socialize with former Northwestern pals, going out as a group to movies and enjoying the Rush Street night life. David took a reporting job at the Tribune (yes, this Tribune), and Kimberley was hired as an assistant account executive at a public relations agency not far from Tribune Tower. Since they both lived on the Near South Side, David would often give her a ride to work.

By October, the weather wasn't the only thing that was changing. It was David who took the first step in changing the trajectory of their relationship.

"I had started to see her in a different light," he said, "and I acted on it by writing her a note that said there was something more between us, and if she felt the same way, let's talk." He remembered that his letter — a love letter, in its way — was written on turquoise stationery. "I gave her this note one morning when I dropped her off at work."

Kimberley read the letter at her desk. Then she folded it up and put it back into the envelope. She remembers, so many years later, that at the time it was "a little overwhelming for me."

When she returned to her apartment later that day, she called her best friend and told her about the note. Her friend asked her if she had feelings for David. Kimberley admitted that she did and decided to reply to him with a note of her own.

And that's how two exchanged letters helped Kimberley and David launch a new chapter in their relationship.

"Once David and I started dating officially after the letter, it took some adjustment for me to see him as more than a friend," Kimberley said. "But the fact that we had been such good friends made us click as a couple."

David agreed. "Our new relationship came with a little nervous uncertainty and discovery," he said. "But I knew Kim, and I was confident that we'd arrive at the right destination. I was mostly excited and happy."

And, Kim added with a laugh, "By Valentine's Day 1989, I was fully comfortable with our boyfriend/girlfriend roles, because I fully expected a gift!"